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UNITED STATES I FOREIGN 

PATENTS, 

TRADE MARKS, &o. 



WM. H. BABCOCK, 

Attorney at Law and Solicitor of Patents, 
No. 513 Seventh Street, 

{p. 0= Box 220,) 

WASHINGTON, D. C. 
INCLUDING THE LATEST CHANGES. 



WASHINGTON, D, C. 

R. Beresford, Printer. 

1885. 

H 



W' 

'$'■ 
S/..^' 



















UNITED STATES i FOREIGN 

PATENTS, 

TRADE MARKS, &c. 

BY/' 

WM. H. BABCOCK, 

Attorney at Law and Solicitor of Patents, 
No. 513 Seventh Street, 

^ (p. O. Box 220,) 

j!^> WASHINGTON, D. C. 
INCLUDING THE LATEST CHANGES. 



WASHINGTON, D. C. 

R. Beresford, Printer. 

1885. 



INDEX. 



Page. 

Introduction I 

The United States ii 

Canada 27 

Mexico 30 

Cuba and Spain 31 

United States of Colombia 32 

Chili S3 

Brazil ^3 

Other American Countries 34 

Great Britain " 35 

France 39 

Germany 41 

Austria ,... 44 

Italy 46 

Belgium 47 

Holland 40 

Russia 4p 

Finland eo 

Sweden ^o 

Norway cj 

Portugal _^ CI 

Luxembourg ^ 52 

Denmark, including Iceland 52 

Turkey c^ 



Other European Countries 

India 

Ceylon 

Other Asiatic Countries and Colonies 

Cape of Good Hope ;\'> 

Natal .,6 

Liberia 5^^ 

New South Wales 

Queensland 

South Australia ^ 

Victoria , 

Western Australia 

New Zealand 

Tasmania 

Hawaii 

Mauritius 

Fiji Islands ' 



3 

gives me great advantages over those who are 
hundreds of miles away from it, and who must 
transact their business either by correspondence, 
by deputy, or in the course of brief and hurried 
visits to the Capital; finally, I have always been 
in the same place and the same building, am 
well known personally and professionally to the 
officials of the Patent Office, and can refer you 
for evidence of responsibility to the real estate 
records of the District, and for that of compe- 
tency to the testimony of many clients who have 
tried me, and whose names and addresses 1 shall 
be pleased to give you, I think that no attorney- 
can show a smaller percentage of cases finally 
lost. 

WHAT IS NEEDED. 

I need at the outset a model, or clear drawings 
showing your invention, together with the best 
explanation you can give of its leading features 
and advantages. It is better to err on the side of 
too great particularity and fullness. From these 
data I prepare the specification and claims. The 
drawings required by the Patent Office arc also 
made from them under my directions. These 
again usually form the basis for preparing the 
applications for foreign patents. If a prelimi- 
nary examination is desired (it usually costs ^5) 
I search the drawings of U. S. patents already 
granted, and often their specifications also, and 
in a good many cases save all further expense 
by finding one which shows the invention. If 
I do not find it, my report is never conclusive as 
to novelty, since some of the drawings are near- 
ly always out of place, and, beside, the very 



thing sought for may be shown in a foreign 
patent or publication which no attorney could 
hope to find without an expenditure of time 
out of all proportion to the price above stated. 
A really exhaustive search through the foreign 
patents and books in the library would often 
cost the applicant far more than the application 
for patent itself Whether a preliminary exami- 
nation is worth paying even the ^5 for or not de- 
pends largely on the nature of the invention and 
the inventor's familiarity with the state of the 
art. I am always willing to give my judgment on 
this point gratis; and in regard to things which 
I know to be old or otherwise unpatentable 
should without any examination advise against 
applying. When the specification and other ap- 
plication papers which need your signature are 
ready, I send them to you with full instructions. 
In returning them you send the fees also. 

WHO SHOULD APPLY. 

Be careful to give me the name and address of 
the real inventor. A purchaser has no right to 
apply for a patent in this country as inventor 
either alone or jointly with the one who really 
contrived it. If two or more parties really united 
in inventing an improvement, they should apply 
jointly; but do not for purposes of economy en- 
deavor to club together in one application dis- 
tinct improvements relating to the same machine, 
but made by different parties. Many patents now 
extant are void by reason of inattention to these 
matters. The safest course, though, certainly, the 
most expensive at the outset, is to apply for two 



5 

or more patents in the several names wherever 
there is any doubt. A renewal application may 
be made by any person interested. So may a re- 
issue, but in this case the inventor must sign and 
make oath. If he will not, the assignee has no 
remedy. Many foreign countries allow the as- 
signee or even any first importer to apply for 
and obtain a valid patent. 

WHEN, WHY, AND HOW TO OBTAIN FOREIGN 
PATENTS. 

This brings us to a highly important topic, 
and one which receives too little attention from 
American inventors, manufacturers, and invest- 
ors in patents. There is no doubt whatever that 
a great many excellent chances for large profits 
are allowed to pass for lack of proper information 
or on account of misunderstandings. There is a 
general impression that valid patents cannot be 
obtained in the more important European coun- 
tries if applied for after the issue of an United 
States patent. This is perfectly true so far as 
France and Germany are concerned, but at pres- 
ent very untrue as a rule with regard to all the 
others. The difference is that the laws of the , 
two countries above mentioned make prior 
publication anyiohere a fatal objection; whereas 
Great Britain, Austria, Russia, and Italy do not 
allow the patent to be invalidated by any publi- 
cation except in the country where the later 
patent is applied for. The receipt of a copy of 
the United States patent and its exposure to the 
public would constitute such publication in every 
one of those countries, and the United States ex- 
changes such copies with all of them except 



Russia, (and with no others as yet,) but the act- 
ual sending is mercifully delayed, giving inven- 
tors a chance to save themselves. Thus no copies 
have been sent since last May, a period of be- 
tween four and five months. It is not likely that 
the margin will be kept quite so broad as this, 
the rule being nominally to send at the end of 
every month ; but an American patentee whose pat- 
ent is not muck more than a quarter of a year old 
should not consider his opportunity gone for obtain- 
ing valid pateyits in the countries last named until 
he has made inquiry of his attorney at Washing- 
ton, who will ascertain for him whether the copies 
have yet been sent to the foreign patent offices. 
Even after reaching there some delay inevitably 
occurs before the public actually have access to 
them. There is, of course, some chance that 
copies may have been sent abroad by private par- 
ties, and placed where the public could see them, 
but this would have to be proved on trial. Again, 
the brief information given by the Patent Office 
Gazette, which is mailed abroad immediately 
after each issue, would, perhaps, be a sufficient 
description in the case of some very simple in- 
ventions, but these must be very few indeed, for 
the courts lean strongly against destroying a pat- 
ent on such grounds. Even a full description in 
a printed book in a public library has been held 
insufficient, if the book was not properly cata- 
logued. Any imperfection in the United States 
patent making it less than a complete disclo- 
sure of the invention, would also prevent it from 
injuring the British patent, even if the former 
patent were exposed to the public in England be- 
fore applying for patent there. With all these 



7 

points in his favor, and in view of the recent 
changes in the law making it httle more expen- 
sive to obtain a British patent than one in the 
United States or Canada, an American patentee 
should think twice before deciding to forego the 
most valuable privilege of the kind in the world. 
V As we do not exchange patents with Russia 
at all, the risk there is still less, even after a longer 
period. The vast extent and population (nearly 
one hundred millions) of that empire, now rapidly 
waking to the demands of modern life, make a 
patent there, though costly, desirable in many in- 
stances. France, Germany, and Austria are vast, 
populous, and wealthy countries, with an immense 
amount of capital invested in manufacturing en- 
terprises. A patent for any one of them costs 
but little more than one for the United States, 
and is often nearly or quite as valuable. It is 
necessary only to be very careful about filing the 
application at least on or before the day of issue 
of the U. S. patent. 

There are some other countries in which a 
valid patent may be obtained after the issue and 
publication of the United States patent ; but the 
term v/ill be limited to a shorter period. Spain, 
as including Cuba, our near neighbor, is one of 
the most important of these to Americans. By 
applying on or before the issue of the United 
States patent, ten years in the life of the patent 
are saved, the full term being tv/enty years. A 
valid ten-year patent may, however, be obtained 
at any time within two years. In Canada, the 
limit is one year from the date of the United 
States patent, but there are advantages, herein- 
after described, in applying earlier. Most of the 



inventions which are worth patenting in the 
United States should be patented there also. In 
any one of the seven Australasian colonies, a 
valid patent may be obtained at any time before 
the invention has gone into use there or been pub- 
lished there ; and in Victoria, a year of such prior 
use and publication is allowed. The thrifty and 
intelligent character of the population of thpse 
colonies, their great cities — such as Melbourne, 
Adelaide and Sydney, — their rapid growth and 
prospects, second only to our own, make their 
patents (especially those of the four larger colo- 
nies) very valuable. India grants a valid patent 
at any time within one year from the date of a 
valid British patent on the same invention. This 
covers all the five presidencies, with an aggregate 
population of nearly two hundred million. Eng- 
lish rule is rapidly putting the country forward 
and modernizing it. The protection is for four- 
teen years, extensible to twenty-eight. There 
are other favorable features in the law, which 
have secured a rapid increase in the number of 
Indian patents. As its advantages become more 
widely known, the number taken out will be 
very much greater than heretofore. No atten- 
tion is paid to prior patents in other countries, 
and there are very few cases in which they can 
harm the Indian patent — indeed, none, if the 
British patent has been properly applied for. 
Mexican and Hawaiian patents are serviceable 
for certain kinds of inventions ; the mines and 
near markets of Mexico compensating for its 
inconvenient patent laws (which, however, do 
not allow a prior U. S. patent to be a bar) ; while 
the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) are almost a 



colony of California, and have enacted a new 
patent law similar to our own, and making their 
patents almost equally cheap. 

This hasty review points out the countries in 
which it is usually most desirable to secure 
patents. Of course, 'in certain instances, others 
for special reasons might be even more valuable. 
Regard must be had to the nature of the inven- 
tion and the industries and productions of dif- 
ferent regions. It would obviously be unwise 
to patent mining machinery in an island almost 
wholly given over to sugar culture ; and an im- 
provement on ships would ordinarily be of no 
value in an inland country not engaged in mianu- 
facturing anything that pertained to navigation. 
Less extreme cases in point will readily occur to 
the reader. But it may safely be said that there 
is hardly any really useful invention which could 
not be profitably patented in several countries at 
least. The weekly issue of U. S. patents is now 
about 475, with almost a certainty of steady 
increase, and of the inventions thus protected a 
considerable number would doubtless be valu- 
able anywhere. Most of these are habitually left 
unguarded outside our own borders; or those of 
two or three other countries. In very many cases, 
the right to obtain patents in divers foreign empires 
and great colonies could doubtless be obtained for a 
small sum, this being a clear profit to the inventor, 
who usually cannot afford to take out many 
foreign patents himself It would be worth while 
for inventors to consult the half thousand or so 
dratvings, and the accomixinying claims^ ^published 
in each number of the Gazette, with a view to such 



lO 

bargains. Of course the field is still broader if 
the invention has not been patented at all. 

The best practice, when the inventor has deter- 
mined in advance to apply for foreign patents, is 
to file the applications of all those which could 
be affected by the U. S. patent on the same day 
that the latter issues. This I can easily effect by 
means of agents in the different capitals, in whose 
hands the applications respectively remain until 
I send them word of the date. But as the neces- 
sary preparations require some time, it is desir- 
able for the applicant to determine just what 
patents he will want as early as possible, and 
make the payments therefor. 

The charges hereinafter stated must be under- 
stood as referring to ordinarily simple cases. 
Of course some inventions are so complex, or 
involve such special elements of difficulty, that 
the time and labor necessarily spent on them 
compel me to state larger fees. 



II 



AMERICA. 



THE UNITED STATES, 

Patents are granted in this country to an in- 
ventor, or the assignee, executor, or adminis- 
trator of an inventor, without regard to age, sex, 
race, or nationality, no one being excluded ex- 
cept Patent Office employes. A patent lasts 
seventeen years, or for the normal term of the 
shortest foreign patent of less duration granted 
previously to its own issue, expiration of said 
foreign patent by non-payment of taxes or ne- 
glect of working having no effect The subject- 
matter may be any new and useful art, (process) 
machine, article of manufacture, or composition 
of matter, or any new and useful improvement 
in any of these. The area covered includes all 
the States, the Territories, and the District of 
Columbia. The privilege secured is the exclu- 
sive right to make, use, and sell what the patent 
claims, subject to the decisions of the U. S. 
courts on questions of validity and infringement. 
If an assignment is recorded before the payment 
of the final fee, the patent will issue to the 
assignee wholly or partly, as the case may be ; 
but the inventor, or his personal representative 
after his death, must sign the application papers 
and make oath to them. The Government fees 
are fifteen dollars (^15), payable on filing the 



12 

application, and twenty dollars (;5^2o), payable 
within six months after allowance. No applica- 
tion is considered completely filed until the appli- 
cation papers, drawing, and first Governnient fee 
are all in. When an executor or administrator ap- 
plies, he must file letters testamentary or of admin- 
istration from some court in this country. Modeh 
are not usually required, and even drawings arc 
dispensed with, provided the subject-matter (e. (j. 
compositions and some processes) will not admit 
of illustration. Specimens of compositions arc 
generally required. Under this head medical 
compounds and preparations for food, prohibited 
in so many countries, are patentable in ours. But 
they must not be injurious; they must have 
some real utility, though it may be slight ; they 
must amount to more than mere addition of inert 
elements to mixtures before known, and must 
involve something higher than the ordinary skill 
and knowledge of a prescribing physician. It is 
often difficult to determine whether any one of 
these restrictions applies in a given case, but the 
principles themselves are clear, and do not essen- 
tially differ from the criteria of other classes of 
invention. Thus, as- a rule, the application of a 
process to a new substance, the substitution of one 
mechanical equivalent for another, the omission 
of an element, or a change of materials in some 
part of a structure or machine, would not be pat- 
entable. Nor Avould a new arrangement or ag- 
gregation of old elements. The exceptions to 
all these and divers similar dicta occur when the 
change is productive of some real advantage, 
not obviously to be foreseen, and therefore legit- 
imately regarded as the fruit of invention. Here 



again a sound doctrine is anything but easy of 
exact practical application. What seems obvious 
after the fact, may have been anything but ob- 
vious before; and what one man, reasoning after- 
ward, may suppose to have been obvious before, 
another will regard as having been a matter of 
doubt and difficulty. Much of the work of 
solicitors and examiners consists in hair-splitting 
over just such metaphysical and logically indeter- 
minable questions ; the outcome of the contest 
in patent or no patent being nevertheless often 
of solid .financial importance. There are a mul- 
titude of formal objections also, which would be 
more properly discussed in a professional treatise 
for the benefit of patent attorneys than in a 
popular handbook for clients. Almost every 
examining division has its own little eddies of 
practice ; so that one examiner will sometimes 
insist on the very phraseology which another 
would resolutely prohibit. This is absurd enough 
of course, and needs correction. Indeed, the 
whole practice of the Office has grown prepos- 
terously intricate and artificial, and would, be a 
very proper subject for sweeping reforms ; al- 
though its personnel is generally good in every 
respect, and not likely to be improved by any 
considerable changes. The provision of the law 
limiting a patent to one invention has been con- 
strued with a really harsh rigidity, but the pres- 
ent Commissioner seems disposed to allow some 
relaxation in the cases where the former decisions 
bore hardest on the inventor ; i. e. those includ- 
ing in one application a process and its product, 
or the various parts of a single machine which 
might be applied for separately, 



14 
THE EXAMINATION. 

After an application has been duly filed it is 
sent to one of the examiners who has charge of 
the particular class of subject-matter to which it 
belongs. It is examined by him in the order of 
its priority, subject to certain statutory excep- 
tions, the most important of which is that 
giving precedence to cases previously patented 
abroad. In some examining divisions the order 
of action is determined by the dates of the en- 
tire mass of cases sent there ; in others the work 
is subdivided among the several assistant exam- 
iners according to subject matter, and each acts on 
his own applications in their chronological order 
without any regard to earlier ones in the hands 
of other assistants. In either case the principal 
examiner revises, controls, and is responsible for 
the decision made, which is generally a rejection 
of some part at least, on grounds of form, or 
substance, or both. This is communicated to 
the inventor through his attorney, and the work 
of the latter in presenting the application then 
fairly begins. He has the right to amend in 
order- to avoid the references cited or the ob- 
jections urged; or if the examiner is partly or 
totally wrong the error may be refuted by argu- 
ment, and reconsideration requested. Often an 
oral interview and explanation are of service as 
auxiliaries; but I avoid troubling the examiners 
needlessly in this way, as they are overworked 
and have very little time to spare. Nevertheless 
a word in season will sometimes go further, and 
hit the mark more exactly, than much writing. 
A great deal depends in this connection on the 



15 

mental constitution and habits of the individual 
examiner under consideration. One is indis- 
posed to listen, but may be relied on to read an 
argument closely and to give full weight to any 
point made ; another will pass over the most care- 
ful written explanation in a rather careless way, 
but may readily be convinced if the same things 
are said to him. An attorney who sees these 
gentlemen frequently naturally gets to under- 
stand many such differences, and conforms his 
procedure thereto as far as possible. But no 
human being can forsee all the whims and excen- 
tricities which an examiner's mind may evolve. 

PROCEEDINGS AFTER ALLOWANCE. 

After amendment or request for reconsidera- 
tion, the examiner acts again, either by way of 
allowance or rejection. In the former case noth- 
ing remains except to pay the final Government 
fee. If paid on a Thursday the patent issues 
two weeks from the next Tuesday. If payment 
be delayed a day longer the interval is extended 
by a week. There is absolute uniformity in this 
procedure. It is quite useless to ask me or any- 
body to hurry it. After allowance it is almost 
impossible to effect any substantial change in the 
claims or specification. Every article or machine 
made under the patent should be marked " pat- 
ented," with the date. 

APPEALS. 

If the examiner does not allow the application, 
he at length finally rejects one or more of the 
claims, or takes similar decisive action on some 



i6 

formal matter. In the first instance an appeal 
lies to the Board of Examiners-in-chief; in the 
second, to the Commissioner in person. The 
latter requires no additional fee ; but on the first 
there is an appeal fee of ;^io, which must be ac- 
companied by a statement of reasons of appeal. 
The examiner answers this in writing. A hear- 
ing is then appointed, and the attorney ordinarily 
appears thereat to support said reasons by oral 
argument and explanation before the Board. If 
they decide unfavorably an appeal lies to the 
Commissioner, (Government fee ;^20,) and thence 
(;|^5o) to the Supreme Court of the District. The 
last appeal is rarely taken. Indeed, even an ap- 
peal to the Board has been found necessary only 
in a very small minority of my cases. My usual 
charge therefor is ;^io. 

INTERFERENCES. 

When two or more applications claim the same 
thing, or one is rejected on a patent and priority 
of invention is claimed over the latter with re- 
gard to subject-matter claimed therein, an inter- 
ference is declared. - The first step is to require 
each party to file a sworn preliminary statement 
of the leading steps in the history of the inven- 
tion ; to all the averments and dates of which he 
will be closely held, although it cannot be used 
as evidence in his favor. For preparing this 
vitally important document I usually charge ;^io. 
These statements are opened on a day set, and a 
period is then appointed within which the appli- 
cant of later date must take testimony-in-chief, 
a second period for the testimony-in-chief and 



17 

rebuttal of the other side, and a third for the re- 
buttal testimony of the one first named. These 
dates are often extended by stipulation or motion. 
The testimony is taken in each instance before a 
notary, U. S. Commissioner, or justice, after notice 
to the attorney of the other side to be present 
and cross-examine. It is afterwards printed and 
the original is sent on with duly authenticated 
exhibits of models, drawings, &c. These last 
are of the utmost importance. So, too, is full 
and precise testimony as to the first conception, 
the first disclosure to others, the dates when 
drawings, models, and machines were made, the 
reduction to practice, and the putting on the 
market. Besides the testimony printed briefs of 
the argument are usually filed on each side, and 
the attorneys appear at the hearing and argue 
the case before the Examiner of Interferences. 
From his decision the defeated party may appeal 
to the Board of Examiners in Chief, and thence 
to the Commissioner. Beyond him there is no 
appeal, but a bill may be brought before an United 
States Circuit Court which will reopen the matter 
from the beginning. This last procedure is not 
very often adopted. The Government appeal 
fees within the Office are the same as those in 
ex parte cases already considered. My charge 
per diem for all time spent in taking testimony, 
traveling to and from the place where it is to be 
taken, preparing the brief, and otherwise in the 
necessary conduct of an interference case, or in 
any other work estimated by the time employed, 
is ,$25. A day means the ordinary seven hours 
of office work. Extra time counts proportion- 
ately. My charge for each hearing- is ^25. It 



i8 

will be seen by the above that a closely contested 
interference is very expensive; but the cost is 
usually distributed over a considerable time; each 
trip, including traveling expenses, being paid for 
about the time it occurs, and at least partly in 
advance. In some instances one side abandons 
the fight at an early stage, leaving to the other 
an easy and cheap victory. 

MATTERS RELATING TO TITLE. 

Patent rights, like other property, may be as- 
signed, mortgaged, and made the subject of a 
great variety of agreements. Certain States have 
sought to restrict this right, but such legislation 
has uniformity been declared unconstitutional. 
Beside an entire assignment any undivided share 
in it may be similarly transferred, or the division 
may be territorial, granting a single State. Li- 
censes may also be issued under a patent, with a 
great variety of restrictions and conditions, rang- 
ing from a mere shop right up to an exclusive 
license throughout the entire country, hardly dis- 
tinguishable from an .absolute assignment. An 
assignment need not be by deed, and a license 
need not be in writing at all ; but both are com- 
monly written, sealed, and recorded. It is best 
that everything in any way relating to the title 
should be put on record as speedily as possible, 
but an assignment is good against everybody if 
recorded within three months from date, and 
good against the assignor if never recorded. The 
Government record fee is $i up, according to 
length. For preparing an ordinary assignment I 
usually charge but ;^i ; for any conveyancing re- . 



^9 

quiring more labor my charge is regulated ap- 
proximately by the time employed. Title searches 
and reports are frequently called for. These cost 
from ^5 upward, the work being much more 
difficult and prolonged in some than in others. 

INFRINGEMENT SEARCHES. 

As the Government in issuing a patent does 
not guarantee its validity, nor even consider the 
question of infringement, no cautious man will 
invest much money in a patent or a suit thereon 
until he has had a thorough search made and a 
competent professional opinion given thereon. 
If a man is sued or threatened with a suit, it 
becomes exceedingly important to him, likewise, 
to know whether he is actually an infringer, and 
whether the patent menacing him is valid or not. 
A search and opinion on these points is paid for 
by the time required at the usual ^25 per diem. 
It extends through the United States patents 
relevant to the subject-matter in dispute, and 
such foreign patents and publications in the 
library as are at all likely to have any bearing 
thereon. Its duration depends on the number 
of points for consideration, the newness or an- 
tiquity of the art to which they relate, and other 
matters. In some instances, a day's search may 
discover all that is really necessary; but more 
often two or three days will be required, and 
sometimes eight or ten, or even more. 

CAVEATS. 

These are applied for sometimes as a prelimi- 
nary to a patent, the cost being but ;^20 or ;^25, 



20 

all told, and the effect being a right to notice in 
case some one else applies for the same thing 
within a year. If the invention be really incom- 
plete, and further time for experiment really 
needed, a caveat is useful ; but in a majority of 
cases it is a mere substitution of the shadow of 
protection for the substance. I generally advise 
an application for patent instead. 

RENEWALS. 

An application forfeited by non-payment of 
the final fee during the six months stated may 
be renewed, on petition of the inventor or any 
other interested person, within two years after 
allowance. The papers formerly filed may be 
used again, but a new first fee must be paid to 
Government, and the application will be liable 
to examination and rejection as a new case. In 
point of. fact, most of these renewals give little 
trouble, so I make my own charge ordinarily 
but ^lo, that is to say ^25 including the first 
Government fee. The rejection and abandon- 
ment of an applicant's first case will not prevent 
him from filing another one for the same inven- 
tion, although he must, except in veiy rare in- 
stances, pay a new fee, supply new papers and 
drawings, and treat the new application in every 
respect as separate and independent. 

REISSUES— DISCLAIMERS— EXTENSIONS. 

These were formerly an important branch of 
practice, but so many reissued patents have been 
overturned by the courts lately that, very few 
persons care to have them even when obtainable. 



21 

In a few Instances, where the error in the original 
patent is obvious, and where there is no attempt 
to introduce new or broader claims, an applica- 
tion for reissue, if made within two -years, is 
advisable ; but that is about all that can be said 
in their favor. Care should be taken to retain 
all the claims of the original patent, since the 
latter is surrendered when the reissue is granted, 
and has no effect thereafter. A reissue must not 
be used to fulfill the function of a disclaimer. 
It dies with the end of the original term. The 
Government fee is ^30. My charge in addition 
thereto is usually $40. 

A disclaimer is a document describing certain 
parts of the original patent which the patentee 
does not desire to retain. It is similar in purport 
to the disclaiming amendments often inserted in 
pending applications, but differs in being a sepa- 
rate document presented by regular petition, and 
having a record and fee of its own. The latter 
is ;^io, to which add my own of ;^20. Few 
disclaimers are filed, and they are nearly always 
by way of preparation for suit. 

PROCEEDINGS IN COURT. 

Infringement suits at law or in equity — the 
latter predominating — are the commonest form 
of the above, though there are special provisions 
for compelling the grant of a patent or the can- 
cellation of one or both of two interfering pat- 
ents. It is also believed to be competent to 
have a patent annulled on the ground of fraud, 
at the suit of the law officers of the Govern- 
ment, on the relation of some injured party who 



22 

has no interfering patent This last is still a 
matter of doubt. 

When damages only are looked for, a jury 
trial is the sole method to be pursued. But in 
most instances the aggrieved party is entitled to 
an injunction also (if he is entitled to anything), 
and wants that even more than the profits. This 
brings the matter properly into the cognizance 
of a court of equity, so that it may be decided 
by the Judge or Judges of an United States 
Circuit or District Court, some of whom have 
become specially qualified to dispose of causes 
involving mechanical questions. If infringement 
and validity are determined in the complainant's 
favor, the ascertainment of the proper amount to 
be awarded as profits or damages is referred to a 
master, who reports thereon subject to the de- 
cision of the court. The testimony on which 
the judge bases his decision, before such refer- 
ence, is taken very much as in interference cases ; 
but experts are ordinarily called in to testify on 
both sides, and the contest is generally more 
close and prolonged, consequently more expen- 
sive. A preliminary injunction pending the suit 
can generally be obtained if there has been a 
decision in the complainant's favor by some 
other U. S. court, .or by the Commissioner of 
Patents in an interference. Long and general 
public acquiescence will also afford sufficient 
ground. But something more is necessary than 
the mere possession of a patent. A man, firm, 
or corporation may be sued either for making, 
using, or selling the subject-matter. Practically, 
nobody is exempt except one who has bought 
from a person having full authority to sell, or one 



INTRODUCTION. 



October, 1885. 

This little treatise contains information which 
will make it worth keeping for future reference. 
So much of it as relates to United States patents 
and patent practice has had the benefit, in prep- 
aration and revision, not only of a long personal 
experience, both inside and outside the Patent 
Office, but also of a complete and minutely sub- 
divided subject-matter digest, made by myself, 
and brought down to date, of all the decisions, 
both of courts and commissioners, reported in 
the Official Gazette since it was first established, 
though of Course only a small part of these can 
be presented. So much as relates to foreign pat- 
ent systems has been compiled from the laws and 
patent office rules of various countries, and from 
a great mass of material sent by agents and at- 
torneys practicing therein, or derived from other 
trustworthy sources. The numerous recent 
changes in the statutes of European nations and 
their colonies, bearing on such subjects, have had 
particular attention, the aim being to give in every 
instance the very latest provisions with regard 
to every point of importance, that my clients 
and readers may know in advance what they 
have to expect and provide for, and may choose 



to the best advantage the fields wherein they 
will obtain protection. I have added in most 
instances similar data with regard to trade marks 
and some other branches of my professional 
work which hardly come under the general title 
chosen, 

A WORD FOR MYSELF. 

Of course I do not profess to be actuated by 
pure benevolence in sending out this little book 
gratis. Therefore, it is proper that I should 
state at the outset the grounds on which I hope 
to receive the reader's business, in many in- 
stances at least. First, an experience of more 
than three years in the examining corps of the 
Patent Office, and more than nine preparing and 
prosecuting applications before it, has thoroughly 
familiarized me with the details of such work, 
and the best methods of securing adequate pro- 
tection as promptly as the law and the rules will 
allow; secondly, beside the acquaintance with 
technical and mechanical matters incident to 
such an experience, I have done some inventing 
myself, and can very well look at the matter 
from the inventor's standpoint; thirdly, long 
practice in most kinds of other descriptive writ- 
ing furnished at the outset an excellent prepara- 
tion for the full and accurate development oi 
specifications, and I still find it of great as- 
sistance; fourthly, I am a graduate of the law 
school of Columbian University, Washington, 
D. C, and a member of the bar of the Su- 
preme Court of the United States, beside di- 
vers lesser tribunals ; fifthly, my location within 
a stone's throw of the Patent Office necessarily 



23 

who has some undivided or territorial interest in 
the patent itself. Even an undivided interest, 
however, will not excuse the manufacture of an 
infringing machine which is not identical with 
the one shown in the patent. But if the owner 
of a fiftieth part adheres closely to the latter, he 
may make and sell as many articles or machines 
as he pleases, and he cannot be compelled to 
pay over anything to the other owners. If, after 
the final "perpetual" injunction (which, notwith- 
standing its name, has no effect after the expira- 
tion of the patent), the defendant persists in 
infringing, he is guilty of contempt, and may be 
punished by fine and imprisonment. Costs are 
awarded to the successful party, or sometimes 
distributed between the parties when the equities 
require it. There are many fine and uncertain 
points with regard to the criteria of profits and 
damages, though some principles are well settled; 
but we need not enter on that subject here. The 
usual legal or equitable pleadings are required 
in these suits. I generally charge $2^ for pre- 
paring a bill or answer (the data being furnished), 
and $2^ per diem for all time employed on the 
case, beside a retainer of not less than ^loo, and 
from $2^ to ^50 for each hearing. 

My usual charge for preparing and prosecuting 
an application for patent on a simple invention is 
^25, with ^5 for the drawings and the ^15 first 
Government fee, making in all $/[^, payable on 
or before filing the application. This makes the 
entire cost of the patent (including the first Gov- 
ernment fee) ordinarily ^65. If the application 
is finally and permanently rejected, there is, of 
course, no necessity to pay the final ;^20. I have, 



24 

however, obtained allowances in nearly all my 
cases. I will generally take applications which 
have been already filed and rejected at two-thirds 
price, that is to say for ^20, exclusive of Govern- 
ment fees. This applies only to inventions which 
are not very complex, and any corrections in the 
drawings will be extra thereto. 

DESIGN PATENTS. 

These run for three and a half, seven, or four- 
teen years, at the option of the applicant. The 
subject-matter must show invention, but its merit 
should lie in the direction of ornament or beauty 
of contour. Each claim should relate to some 
separable or at least clearly distinguishable part. 
There must be no reference in the specifitation 
to material operation or practical utility. The 
privileges granted and remedies for their infringe- 
ment are the same as in the case of other patents. 
A wide range of articles and fabrics, specified in 
detail in the statute, may be formed in accord- 
ance with the designs which constitute its sub- 
ject-matter. Some of these articles, &c., have no 
other purpose than ornament; others are primi- 
arily useful, but all must be susceptible of pro- 
ducing a pleasing effect on the eye. The Gov- 
ernment fees are respectively ten, fifteen, and 
thirty dollars, (;^io, ;^I5, ^^30,) according to dura- 
tion, payable on filing the case. To these I 
usually add about twenty dollars (;^2o) as my 
own fee. 

TRADE MARKS. 

These require no invention. The same maii<: 
may be registered by two different men if applied 



25 

o different kinds of goods. No registration is 
dlowed unless the mark is used in commerce 
vith foreign nations or the Indian tribes. The 
nark must not so closely resemble that of some 
)ne else applied to the same class of goods as 
:o be easily mistaken therefor. The owner's 
lame would not be registrable, but his signature 
vould. The name of his place of manufacture 
vould be objectionable, but the name of another 
3lace in some instances would not. Descriptive 
A^ords would not make a trade mark if properly 
ased; but if used fantastically and preposterously 
:hey might. Arbitrariness is essential to a trade 
mark. Almost any fancy words, characters, or 
symbols will do. It may be registered by an in- 
dividual, a firm, or a corporation; is good for 
thirty years, and any person counterfeiting it is 
liable to be severely punished. The applicant 
should send me specimens of the mark, a state- 
ment of the features regarded as most essential, 
the name of the country in commerce with which 
it is used, and an account of the usual method of 
applying it, and the class of articles distinguished 
by it. The Government fee is ^25 and mine is 
^5, due on filing the application. 

LABELS AND PRINTS. 

These are under the same examiner as trade 
marks. In the Patent Office sense, a print or 
label may be defined as a slip containing an 
illegitimate trade mark, and used for similar pur- 
poses. It must not relate to the fine arts. It 
must not be arbitrary. It may consist mainly of 
the owner's name, or descriptive words, or any- 



26 

thing else not suitable to trade mark registry. 
The registration is good for twenty-eight years. 
The applicant should send me half a dozen 
specimens. My fee and the Government fee 
together only amount to ^15. The label law is 
of very doubtful constitutionality. 

COPYRIGHTS. 

These come under the supervision of the Li- 
brarian of Congress. The subject-matter may 
be any book or other printed publication, any 
kind of a picture or engraving, a sheet of music, 
statuary, or a print or design having relation to 
the fine arts. A copyright may be assigned and 
the assignment recorded at a cost of ^i Govern- 
ment fee. For preparing this document I charge 
at least $2 additional. The privilege conferred 
is similar to that of a patent, and the practice 
and fees in suits thereon are substantially the 
same. The duration is twenty-eight years. To 
obtain registration I need three copies of the 
book or other thing to be copyrighted, a print 
of the title, three dollars (^3) for the Govern- 
ment fee, and five dollars (;^5) for myself Copy- 
rights are easily obtained, but some time is neces- 
sarily expended in doing so. In some instances, 
the subject-matter runs so close to the labels, 
designs, or mechanical inventions under the ju- 
risdiction of the Patent Office, that there may be 
doubt as to which should be applied for. The 
distinction to be made is between literary or 
artistic invention, on the one hand, and marks 
for the purposes of commercial identification or 
contrivances for advancing the useful arts or 



enhancing the value of articles of commerce, oil 
the other. But no precise and invariably reliable 
line can be drawn, I think, between designs to 
be patented and designs to be copyrighted. Some 
things which have a mechanical function are 
capable also of being read and conveying ideas 
like ordinary print ; and an engraving may very 
well be a highly meritorious work of art, though 
serving also to indicate ownership or place of 
manufacture. In many cases, both kinds of pro- 
tection might properly be obtained; the one to 
guard against mere reproduction, the other against 
some special use. There are, further, divers 
rights, which courts will protect, that still are 
not registrable or patentable in any manner 
whatever. 



CANADA. 

The Canadian patent system is modeled partly 
on our own and partly on that of Great Britain. 
The application papers are similar to those re- 
quired for the U. S. Patent Office ; but the speci- 
fications and drawings are in duplicate, with a 
single sheet of card-board ; and the Canadian 
rules are very particular about the exact corre- 
spondence of the copies and other formal mat- 
ters. There is an examination as to novelty, but 
not so searching as with us ; and allowances can 
generally be more promptly obtained. The 
Government fee, due on filing, is ^20, one-half 
of which is returned in case of rejection. I 



28 

have not found this provision of much import- 
ance, however, all my applications having been 
allowed except one, in which the repayment was 
promptly made. There is no final fee. The 
patent runs for fifteen years, subject to the pay- 
ment of ;^20 at the end of the first five years, 
and ^20 more at the end of the first ten. A 
patent may be obtained at any time within one 
year after the grant of one elsewhere; but it is 
not well to postpone very long, for any person 
who begins the manufacture in Canada before 
the issue of the Canadian patent may continue 
it during the whole life of the latter, and will 
not be liable for infringement. The patented 
article, machine, or composition must not be 
imported into Canada after twelve months from 
the date of patent, though a single one as a 
specimen or pattern will do no harm. The in- 
vention must be worked in Canada within two 
years from the date of patent, and the work- 
ing must not be discontinued for two years 
at any time during its life. This, however, is 
not enforced as stated. Willingness to license 
and supply the market, coupled with a very 
slight effort to do so, is held sufficient. The 
law of reissues, disclaimers, caveats, infringe- 
ment, assignment, marking, &c., differs only in 
some minor points from that of the United States. 
My usual fee for Canadian patents is about $60, 
including the ;^20 Government fee, but when the 
invention is very simple may be less. In com- 
plicated cases it is sometimes as high as ;^ioo or 
more. For attending to the payment of the five- 
year and ten-year Government fees (which keep 
the patent alive) I usually charge ^5 each ; mak- 



29 

ing each payment $2^ in all. Preparing and re- 
cording assignment of Canadian patent usually 
costs $^ to $/[.. Caveat, including Government 
fee, ^25. A model or specimen is required for 
every Canadian patent, but need not be supplied 
till the latter is actually issued. The specifica- 
tions are not printed, nor are the drawings photo- 
graphed, but one of the copies of each sent by 
the applicant is returned to him after patent. 

TRADE MARKS. 

These are registered in the office of the Min- 
ister of Agriculture. Any proprietor of a trade 
mark may effect this registry. No suit for in- 
fringement can be sustained without it. The 
mark may be refused registration for lack of nov- 
elty, as tending to deceive, indecency, or lack of 
the " essentials " of " a trade mark properly speak- 
ing." It may be, at the option of the applicant, 
either general or specific. In the former case it 
applies to whatever he deals in ; whereas a specific 
trade mark applies only to a particular class of 
merchandise. A general trade mark lasts for- 
ever. A specific trademark lasts twenty-five 
years, and may be successively renewed, each 
time for the same period, as often as the proprie- 
tor desires. The Government fee for each gen- 
eral trade mark is ;^30 ; for each specific trade 
mark $2^ ; for each renewal of the latter ;^20. 
If any application is rejected the Government fee 
is returned to the applicant, except ^5. Provis- 
ion is made for interferences ; for cancellation of 
a trade mark registry when the proprietor so de- 
sires ; and for the correction of clerical errors. I 



30 

need, to prepare the application, specimens of the 
mark, a brief description or explanation and a 
statement whether the registration is to be gen- 
eral or specific. My own charge, including draw- 
ings, will be ;^20, in addition to above Govern- 
ment fees. 

DESIGNS. 

Registered for residents in Canada only. Du- 
ration five years, extensible to ten. Must be ap- 
plied for before publication. Copy of design and 
brief explanation needed to prepare for registry. 
Charge ;^I5, including government fee. Each 
renewal $\2. 



MEXICO. 

Duration ten years. Not affected by prior 
U. S. or other foreign patent or publication. 
Application papers similar to our own, but the 
power of attorney must be legalized by the min- 
ister or a consul of that country. These for- 
malities are rather costly. A brief notice of the 
application is three times published in the offi- 
cial gazette. Two months are allowed for oppo- 
sition. In some cases Congressional approval is 
necessary; but usually the patent, if unopposed, 
will issue soon after the two months. Never- 
theless, the administration of affairs in Mexico 
is even yet rather uncertain, though constantly 
improving. An arbitrary period for working 
may be set by Government, but generally this 
provision is not attended to. One-half of the 



31 

employes in Mexico under the patent must, if 
practicable, be Mexicans. The Government fees 
are allowed by statute to vary from ten dollars 
(;^io) to three hundred dollars (^300). No one 
can be certain, in advance, of what the fee will 
be ; but in most cases it is believed to be nearer 
the minimum than the maximum limit. My 
charge will be ordinarily two hundred and fifty 
dollars (^250), payable at the outset, with extra 
subsequent charge for all Government fees and 
charges in excess of ^50. 



CUBA. 



As this island comes with the other colonies 
under the Spanish law, and as it is ordinarily 
more important to Americans than old Spain, 
I insert it here. There is, however, a decided 
awakening in the latter country, making it a 
good market for patents on easily manufactured 
articles and other inventions requiring small 
capital ; also for fire-arms. The patent term is 
twenty years, if applied for before patenting in 
any other country ; if applied for afterward, it is 
but ten. The inventor applies in either of these 
instances; but if no such application is made, 
any one who will begin the manufacture in Spain 
may obtain a patent for five years. Medical 
compounds are not patentable. Working is re- 
quired within two years, and must not be inter- 
rupted for more than a year. Infringers are 
punished by heavy fines. Annual fees to Gov- 
ernment are required, beginning with 20 pesetas 



32 

($6), and increasing each year by lo pesetas. 
My charge for a Spanish patent, including the 
first year's Government fee, is usually ^75. There 
are agent's charges and other incidental expenses 
in connection with the subsequent annuities (as 
in all other countries which have taxes after 
patent), making the second payment in all about 
;^I5, the third ;^i8, and so on. Cuba is a favorite 
market for many American articles and some 
kinds of machinery, especially everything re- 
lating to sugar and tobacco. The same is true 
to a less extent of the neighboring island of 
Porto Rico, included in the same patent. The f 
entire population covered is about equal to one- ^ 
half that of the United States. ^ 



UNITED STATES of COLOMBIA. 

This country contains the railway across the 
Isthmus, from ocean to ocean, and the Panama 
Canal. 

It has, unlike most Spanish-American coun- 
tries, a well administered patent system, A pre- 
vious American or other foreign patent is no 
obstacle ; but the Colombian patent will expire 
with it. Working the invention is required with- 
in a year, and not to be interrupted for a year at 
any time thereafter. The inventor selects his 
own term of patent, from five years to twenty, 
each additional year adding ;^io to the cost. 
Usual charge, including all payments for one 
year, ^175, sometimes less. 



33 
CHILI. 

This is well known as the most enterprising of 
the South American republics, and a correspond- 
ingly good field for patents. The cost of obtain- 
ing one is uncertain. At least ;^200 would be 
required at the outset, with probably a further 
outlay before obtaining the patent. There are 
no annual or other payments afterward; and the 
laws are very strict against infringers. The term 
is eight years, if the invention has iDcen previ- 
ously published in another country, otherwise 
ten. It is often extended. 



BRAZIL. 

This Empire has a territory almost as large as 
that of the United States, and a population 
nearly twice that of Canada, though much less in- 
telligent. Seven months are allowed from the date 
of patent elsewhere before filing an application. 
The patent runs for fifteen years, or the life of 
the prior foreign patent, with annual payments, 
increasing at the rate of about ^5 per year. 
There is a formal examination, but allowance is 
pretty certain. The invention must be worked 
within three years. The operation of the patent 
may be suspended in any part of the country not 
properly supplied. The cost of the patent will 
not usually exceed $y^. 



34 
OTHER STATES and COLONIES. 

The other South American countries and the 
Central American States nearly all have patent 
laws ; but revolutions are so frequent and the ad- 
ministration so unstable, corrupt, and irregular, 
that this feature of civilization is neglected. The 
cost is ordinarily about ^200 or ;^250 in each; 
but for the majority of inventions the money 
would doubtless be thrown away. Guiana and 
the rather nlimerous insular colonies of England 
and other European nations also have, in many 
instances, individual patent systems, or grant 
patents by special legislative ordinance. Some 
of these may be worth considering in connec- 
tion with improvements in arts or branches of 
cultivation which are specialties there. To 
Americans Jamaica and Newfoundland are per- 
haps the most the most important. In each an 
U. S. patent is no obstacle ; the term is fourteen 
years or the life of the prior foreign patent; work- 
ing is required within two years, and there are 
no annuities. The cost of the patent is about 
;^22 5 in the former and ;^200 in the latter. Bar- 
badoes, under its new law, has about the longest 
original patent term in' the world, twenty-one 
years, and costs less than most of them, {$17 S) 
but it has seventh and fourteenth -year taxes of 
^15 and £2^ respectively. 



35 



EUROPE, 



GREAT BRITAIN and IRELAND. 

None of the colonies are included in a British 
patent, but the great wealth, dense population, 
and industrial supremacy of the mother country 
make such a patent in many instances the very 
most valuable in the world. Formerly the ex- 
pense of obtaining one was so great that it de- 
terred most American inventors and their as- 
signees from the venture; but this defect is now 
remedied, the Government fees prior to grant of 
patent being little more than half our own. The 
patent runs fourteen years, subject to the condi- 
tion of paying ^^50 at the end of four years and 
^100 at the end of seven years. These payments 
may be distributed into annual sums of i^io and 
£1 5 if preferred. When made through an attorney 
there are moderate agency charges, of course. 
A British patent is not made void by a foreign 
patent or publication in any other country; but 
prior publication in Great Britain is fatal if con- 
clusively proved in court. In most instances 
this does not occur until several weeks at least 
after the U. S. patent, as before explained. The 
official examination is chiefly as to formal mat- 
ters, and few cases are rejected or persistently 
objected to. Oppositions are allowed, but occur 
only in a small minority of cases. 



36 

There is no restriction on importation. The 
feature of the new British patent law which least 
commends itself to Americans is that which al- 
lows the Board of Trade, on the petition of any 
person interested, to compel a patentee to grant 
licenses for a compensation fixed by said Board. 
This, however, will not be done unless it appears 
that the patent is not being worked in the United 
Kingdom ; or that the public is not reasonably 
supplied ; or that any one is prevented by the 
patent from working or using his own invention 
to the best advantage. None of these considera- 
tions, however, affect the validity of the patent. 
The British practice is much more lenient than 
our own with regard to what may be included in 
a single application, so that the aggregate cost of 
protection is sometimes far less. Many claims, 
also, which would be pertinaciously rejected here 
may be readily obtained there, and will hold good 
in court. This is especially true of such as would 
here be called functional, or claims for a princi- 
ple. There is no provision, as with us, for two 
years' public use before applying ; but by filing a 
provisional application, nine months' time may be 
obtained, during which the invention may be 
publicly worked and sold in Great Britain. As 
in our law, merely experimental use in the United 
Kingdom before application, or public use and 
sale anywhere else at any time will do no harm. 
The granting of extensions, though rather un- 
usual and accompanied by considerable expense, 
is not, as here, a matter of practical impossibility. 
There are provisions in the English patent law 
for disclaimers, interferences, the revocation of 
patents, and nearly everything which the United 



States law provides for. Assignments and other 
instruments of title are recorded in much the 
same way and have similar effect. Infringement 
suits are prosecuted and defended in accordance 
with the same general principles of law. The 
average expense is probably greater than with us, 
owing to their more cumbrous legal machinery 
and their curious division of lawyers into succes- 
sive strata, compelling the employment of two or 
three where one should suffice. A mitigating 
provision enables either party to demand and ob- 
tain the submission of a cause to arbitration. 

A provisional patent (total cost ^25) may be 
applied for, and the patent completed for ;^55 a 
little less than nine months later, there being 
some additional work when this method is 
adopted. An extension of time may usually be 
obtained by paying a small fine. If the patent 
be not completed it will be kept secret. The 
first importer or applicant is considered an in- 
ventor in the absence of clear proof of fraud, so 
it^s important to apply as soon as practicable. 
The declaration is made before a British consul 
or before a notary if there Is no consul in the in- 
ventor's neighborhood. Joint applicants need 
not all be inventors. Application may be made 
by way of communication to an English agent, 
but this plan involves an additional outlay of 
about $7.^0 and I do not advise it. My charge, 
when the complete application is filed in the first 
instance, is usually $y^, including Government 
fees. 

DESIGNS. 

Registration for five years. They need not be 



38 

decorative or aesthetic. If used outside of Great 
Britain they must be used in the latter also within 
six months from registration, or protection ceases. 
They are kept secret during the said five years, 
but are afterward open to inspection. Every ar- 
ticle to which they are applied must be marked 
R'd or Reg'd (according to the class) with thp 
registration number. Triplicate drawings of 
specimens are required. I need for such an ap- 
plication a specimen or specimens, a brief ex- 
planation of the nature and utility of the design 
and the articles to which it will be applied, and 
a statement of the name, residence, and business 
of the proprietor. My charge, including Gov- 
ernment fee, drawings, &c., will vary from ;^20 to 
^25, according to the subject-matter. 

TRADE MARKS. 

These are granted for fourteen years, and the 
term may be extended at a cost of about ^10. 
To obtain a trade mark I require the full name, 
address and business of the applicant, three 
copies of the mark, a wood block or electrotype 
for making it, and a statement of the goods or arti- 
cles to which it is applied, and for how long it 
has been thus used. Every trade mark applied 
for is advertised by Government, and may possi- 
bly be opposed. In most cases it would, how- 
ever, be admitted to registry with little delay. 
It is assignable only with the good-will of the 
business. As to the proper subject-matter for 
registry, the British law is very similar to our 
own. The charge for obtaining it is $2^, Govern- 
ment fees included. 



39 
FRANCE. 

A French patent (including Algeria) lasts for 
fifteen years, or the term of any shorter prior 
foreign patent, subject to an annual payment of 
lOO francs, due on the anniversary of the date of 
application, which, with agency charges, will 
come to about $2^. There is no examination as 
to novelty, no oath or declaration is required, 
and a patent can usually be obtained with very 
little delay. Claims that would be objected to 
by the U. S. Patent Office will be allowed readily 
by that of France. The patent dates from the 
hour of application, though the actual grant 
may not take place till several weeks afterward. 
Medicines are not patentable, but in other re- 
spects the law as to subject-matter is the same 
as in England and the United States. A patent 
is held valid until declared void ; but the latter 
will be done at the instance of any interested 
party, on conclusively showing that the subject- 
matter is contrary to public morals, law, or order ; 
that the description is insufficient or misleading, 
or the principle undemonstrated ; that the in- 
ventor knew and suppressed a better way of 
putting his invention into practice ; that the in- 
vention is not new, or has been obtained by 
fraud from the inventor; that he or his agent 
has imported the subject of the patent into 
France without Government permission ; or that 
any annual tax has not been paid. No allow- 
ance is made for accidents under this latter head, 
and one day's delay is as fatal as a year's. The 
prohibition of importation is often a serious ob- 
jection, as the Government will generally refuse 



40 

a permit. In some cases, however, the mere 
appearance of manufacturing in France under 
a contract so to do seems to be sufficient, not- 
withstanding the actual fact of importation. [The 
article imported must be complete or it will not 
affect the patent. Thus importation of the ma- 
terial alone will do no harm. The invention 
must be worked within two years from the date 
of the grant of the patent, and working must 
not be abandoned for any two consecutive years 
thereafter; but almost anything that looks like 
a serious endeavor to get the invention on the 
market will be held sufficient. Proof of working 
should be recorded within the first two years. 
This will ordinarily cost from $2^ to ;^50, and in 
practice is not always attended to. 

A prior patent as such does not invalidate a 
subsequent French patent, but if the former (or 
any other complete description) be published in 
any country before the French patent is applied 
for the latter will not be valid. It will readily be 
granted and will stand until contested in court, 
but that is all. Further, any attempt to use as a 
scare -crow or means of intimidation a patent 
known to be void, for this or any other reason, 
will subject the patentee to the risk of punish- 
ment by fine and imprisonment, .provided the 
French courts can reach him. Advertisements, 
labels, stamps, Sic, must be marked " sans gar- 
eniie^' of '' Gouveryiement" after ^^ breve f or 
" brevete," under penalty of a fine. All the Gov- 
ernment fees for the full fifteen years must be 
paid before an assignment can be made. To 
avoid this great cost it is common to execute 
agreements to assign, which are enforceable by 



the courts. There are divers arrangements with 
respect to title, royalty, &c., not very uncommon 
in this country and England which cannot be 
effected in the same way or with the same cer- 
tainty in some of the Continental countries of 
Europe. Thus a royalty per article manufac- 
tured must not be stated in an assignment as the 
consideration, since the fee for recording the in- 
strument depends in some instances on the gross 
amount of the latter, and no one can say in ad- 
vance what it will be. A given amount per an- 
num would apparently suffice. Contracts or 
agreements may of course be made between the 
parties covering these points. 

My usual charge for a French patent is $'/^, 
all included. A patent of addition is used as a 
codicil for annexing improvements and after- 
thoughts, costs about ;^50, and requires no an- 
nual Government fees. 

DESIGNS AND TRADE MARKS. 

These may be protected in France at a cost to 
the applicant of about $40 each. To prepare the 
application, I need specimens of the design or 
trade mark and a brief explanation such as the 
applicant would naturally give in his letter trans- 
mitting it. 



GERMANY. 

Formerly there were a great number of patent 
systems in the German States, so that the aggre- 
gate cost of protection was very great ; but thes^ 



42 I 

are now all swallowed by the Imperial German 
patent law, which extends over a population 
nearly as large as that of the United States, and 
a territory including most of the great commer- 
cial and manufacturing cities of central Europe. 
A German patent has, therefore, become one of 
the most valuable properties of the kind in the 
world. 

Whatever is patentable in the United States is 
patentable in Germany, excepting only articles 
of food, drink, and medicine and chemicals gen- 
erally. The system of examination is very much 
like our own, and the objection to including more 
than one invention is insisted on with equal rigor. 
The specification must be stated differently and 
more tersely; and the claims are differently 
drawn and construed. After the official objec- 
tions are disposed of, the case is thrown open to 
opposition by advertisement, as in England, 
Mexico, and some other countries. The law as 
to prior publication abroad is the same as in 
France ; and a discovery of the prior foreign pat- 
ent would result in the rejection of the case. 
The course to be pursued in filing the application 
is, therefore, the same as in France, except that 
it should be one day earlier, as the patent bears the 
date of the day after it is filed. The law of pat- 
ents of addition is very similar to the French. 
There is no restriction on importation ; three years 
are allowed; the working is not insisted on in the 
absence of any demand for the invention, and there 
are three months' grace for paying the annuities, 
in all of which respects the comparison with the 
French law is favorable to the German. On the 
other hand, the annual Government fee, though 



43 

only fifty marks at the end of the first year, rises 
to one hundred at the end of the second, and so 
on, increasing by fifty marks each twelvemonth. 
To this must be added agency charges, making 
the cost about ^17.50 the first year, ;^30 the 
second year, &c. Licenses, at a reasonable roy- 
alty, are compulsory, if the public interest is held 
to require them. 

The law of infringement is extremely and 
almost fiercely in favor of the patentee; the 
offender, if wilful, being punished by a fine of 
^1,250, or a year's imprisonment. In addition 
to this the complainant may insist on a further 
fine of ;^2,5oo for his own benefit, (or take dam- 
ages instead by civil suit, as he prefers,) and may 
publish the sentence at the cost of the injured 
party. Infringement is not likely to occur very 
often in Germany. My usual charge for a Ger- 
man patent in a simple case is $y^, including the 
Government fee due on filing the case. The an- 
nual fees are due on the anniversary of the day 
of filing the application. 

TRADE MARKS. 

To secure registration in Germany, I need 
five small copies of the mark, a wood block or 
electrotype thereof, and an official certificate 
from the U. S. Patent Office that the mark has 
been registered here. An oath and petition are 
also required, each with the mark printed thereon 
or secured thereto by the notarial seal. The 
oath must be legalized and the certificate attested 
by a German consul. If it consists of words, 
letters, or figures only, proof must be given of 



44 

the applicant's right to use it in his own country 
prior to 1875. The Patent Office certificate of 
registration is generally the most available evi- 
dence of this. An official copy of it, legalized 
by a German consul, must therefore be appended. 
I attend to the matters of obtaining copies, cer- 
tificates, legalization, &c. It will be seen that 
there is a good deal of work, even before the appli- 
cation is made. My charge will usually be ^50 
to ;^55, Government fee included. 

DESIGNS. 

. The requirements with respect to designs are 
much simpler. I need samples and explanation, 
with applicant's name, residence and occupation. 
Charge, ^40. 



AUSTRIA. 

The great Austro-Hungarian Empire ranks 
next in importance for our purposes after France 
and Germany on account of its population, wealth, 
its great cities, such as Vienna and Budapesth, and 
its mines and manufactures. 

A patent will be granted and held valid not- 
withstanding a prior patent in the United States. 
It runs for fifteen years or the life of a prior for- 
eign patent of shorter term. They must not have 
previously been worked or published in Austria. 
A separate patent is simultaneolisly published in 
Hungary on the same application without extra 
charge. Anything patentable in the United 



45 

States except food, beverages, and medicines may 
be patented in Austria and Hungary ; assign- 
ments and licenses are registered. The practice 
as to a single subject in an application is the 
same as in Germany and the United States. If 
desired, the specification will be kept secret ; but 
the infringer of a secret specification cannot be 
prosecuted for the first offence. This is a matter 
of some importance, since the penalty is by fine 
or imprisonment, as in Germany, though to a less 
extent ; also the confiscation or destruction of all 
tools, materials, &c., used in infringing. The 
first applicant obtains the patent and is sustained 
therein, whether the first inventor or not. Work- 
ing is required within a year, although it suffices 
to partly put together a machine, the elements of 
which have been made elsewhere, and which is 
not actually completed and operated until after 
the year ends. Improvements in guns and other 
implements of warfare are usually appropriated 
and paid for by Government ; or patents are re- 
fused altogether. It is common to obtain a pat- 
ent for one year and extend it from year to year 
by paying the annual Government fees. Such a 
patent is judicially construed as one for fifteen 
years, subject to annual payments. My charge, 
including the Government fee for the first year, 
will ordinarily be ^80. The registration of a 
trade mark in Austria will cost the applicant 
;^35-. I require the same documents and data as 
for Germany. United States citizens are not al- 
lowed to register designs in Austria. 



46 \ 

ITALY. 

In Italy the applicant may choose a longer or 
shorter term, varying from one year to fifteen 
years. Beside the annual tax, there is a propor- 
tional tax payable on applying for the patent. 
This latter varies with the period chosen. It is 
common to choose and pay for one year, and then 
extend the patent with each successive annual 
payment. This is rather expensive, however, as 
each application for extension involves some 
outlay. The total cost of application, including 
the proportional tax for three years, will be ;^8o. 
The annual payment for the second and third 
years will amount, with incidental charges, to 
about ;^I5 each. Then they increase by about 
;^5, and this increase is repeated each three years. 
One year is allowed for working if the propor- 
tional tax has been paid for less than six years ; 
but the limit is two years if the proportional fees 
have been paid for six years or more. This lat- 
ter plan involves some extra cost (;^I5) at the 
outset, but has obvious advantages. 

It is not necessary that the parts of a machine 
should have been made in Italy. Setting up and 
working suffices. 

The Italian patent will expire with any prior 
foreign patent, but the latter is no obstacle to 
obtaining the former, though its prior publica- 
tion in Italy might make the Italian patent void. 
Lapse by non-payment of fees on the foreign pat- 
ent has no effect. Medicines are not patentable, 
nor are articles injurious to health. Assignments 
may be made and recorded as here, except that 
all the fees of the patent term chosen must first 



47 

be paid, if the assignment is to more than one per- 
son, in separate shares. The cost of the assign- 
ment depends on the consideration, but will 
never be less than ;^I5. Infringers are liable to 
a fine of about ^loo. To obtain registry of a 
trade mark in Italy, I require about the same 
data as in other countries, with the addition that 
the label or print showing the mark should con- 
tain the signature of the applicant, the name of 
the manufactory, and the name and location of 
the chief house of sale. My charge will be ^40. 
Designs may also be registered; information as 
to manufactory and place of sale not needed. 
Cost, ,$50. 



BELGIUM. 

This country, though small, is the most densely 
populated in Europe, and a veritable hive of 
manufacturing industry. Moreover, its prox- 
imity to France and Germany, and the facility 
with which manufactured articles could be in- 
troduced into them from it, make a Belgian 
patent a most desirable safeguard. Nearly 70,000 
have been obtained. There is no difficulty and 
not much delay in obtaining it. Any one may 
do so except citizens of a country not granting 
reciprocity, and the subject-matter may be any- 
thing patentable in the United States, except 
medicines for human beings and some medical 
appliances. Patents of addition are granted, as 
in several other European countries. All other 
patents are either of invention or of importation. 



48 

The former run for twenty years, subject to an 
annual fee ; the latter expire with the prior 
foreign patent on which they are based, unless 
the term of that is more than twenty years. A 
patent of invention will be void if the subject- 
mater has been previously published in print or 
patented anywhere, or worked in the kingdom 
by any one other than the inventor or those claim- 
ing under him. A valid patent of importation may, 
however, be obtained, notwithstanding prior for- 
eign patents and governmental publications, al- 
though a complete prior description, published in 
any country by any one except a government, 
would be fatal. Six additional months for paying 
an annual fee may be obtained by paying a fine 
or extra tax. These annual fees begin at a very 
low figure, but increase with every year ; thus, 
with agent's charges, the cost for the first year is 
about $7-^0', for the second, ;^io, &c. The in- 
vention must be worked at least partly before 
the expiration of a year from the time it can 
be proven to have been worked in another 
country. This time may be prolonged another 
year by petition. The working must never 
be suspended continuously for one year. Nei- 
ther licenses nor assignments need be recorded, 
if they have a date attested by a notary's seal 
or some official document ; otherwise both must 
be recorded. The registration fee varies with 
the consideration. The assignor warrants title 
and validity, and the assignee can compel him 
to refund the purchase-money if the patent fails 
in either respect. My usual charge for obtain- 
ing a Belgian patent is ;^5o. 



49 
TRADE MARKS AND DESIGNS. 

These may be protected by registry. I require 
substantially the same data as in most other 
:ouptries. My charge for the former will be 
^35, for the latter, ^40. 



HOLLAND. 

Trade marks alone are protected. Cost 
Same data needed as in England or Belgium 



RUSSIA. 

Patents of invention last three, five, or ten 
years, as chosen ; patents of importation from one 
to six. The former are invalidated by prior 
publication in Russia; the latter, not. Slight 
improvements are not generally regarded as pat- 
entable, and there is a rigid system of examina- 
tion, resulting in many rejections. Nevertheless 
almost any really valuable invention may be 
patented if application be made soon enough. A 
patent term runs from the grant, though pro- 
tection begins with application. As the proceed- 
ings are somewhat lengthy, a ten-year patent 
sometimes gives nearly twelve years' protection, 
with right to sue for infringement perpetrated 
during any part of it. There are no annual fees 
or other fees after patent; working is not re- 
quired until near the end of the first quarter of 
the nominal term; compulsory licenses are not 



so 

required; importation is not restricted, and a part 
of the Government fee is returned in case of 
final rejection. The Government may require 
special privileges for itself, paying therefor. Cost 
of patent, including Government fees, ;^350. For 
trade marks I need the usual data, with copy of 
U. S. certificate of registration and power of at- 
torney legalized by Russian consul. Cost, ^40. 



FINLAND, 

Though under the Czar, has a separate patent 
system. A commercial and agricultural country 
of frugal and thrifty people, bordering on the 
Baltic sea. It has kept something of its former 
liberty. The patent runs for twelve years, and 
costs about $17 S- 



SWEDEN, 

Under the law of 1885, only actual inventors 
or their representatives are entitled to apply. 
Official publication by a foreign patent office is 
no bar if the Swedish application is filed within 
six months thereafter. Any other complete de- 
scription, published anywhere before the date of 
said application, will invalidate the patent. Ap- 
plications are open to the public for two months, 
and may be opposed. Working is required 
within three years, and must not be discontinued 
for a year thereafter. Patents are granted for 



51 

fifteen years, subject to annual payments, which 
begin with 25 crowns and increase with the sixth 
and eleventh years by the same amount The 
number of patents taken out in this very solid 
and thriving country — population about equal 
to that of the State of New York — has been 
steadily increasing, and this law must give it a 
fresh impetus. Charge, ^^80. 



NORWAY. 

Patent usually ten years. Must be worked 
within two years from grant. Invention offi- 
cially published at patentee's expense, when the 
time has half expired, at a cost of ten dollars 
(Norwegian). If the invention is worked in 
any market town, the worker must become a 
citizen thereof Usual cost, $'j^. No annual 
fees, no compulsory licensing, no restriction on 
importation. 



PORTUGAL. 

Patents are not granted if the invention has 
been published in the realm before application, 
but a patent which does not reach Portugal until 
after said application will have no effect, except 
to limit the normal fifteen years of the Portuguese 
patent to its own duration, if less. The inven- 
tion must be publicly worked during the first 
half of the term. If left undisturbed during that 
half, its validity is unimpeachable afterward. 



52 

There are no annual taxes and not many vexa- 
tious provisions, except in the case of chemical 
patents, on each of which ^i,ooo extra must be 
deposited, subject to confiscation if certain cere- 
monial requirements be not complied with. Med- 
icines, food, and ornaments are not patentable ; 
but books, music, designs, and sculpture are so. 
Patents of addition are allowed ; but improve- 
ments will not be patented to any one except the 
original patentee during the first year. Either 
the inventor or first importer may obtain a pat- 
ent. The cost is about $17 S- 



LUXEMBOURG. 

This petty State derives some importance from 
its position between Belgium, France, and Ger- 
many. Of course infringers might locate them- 
selves there and manufacture with impunity, 
causing trouble in those countries. A patent 
costs $4.0. The law in nearly all respects is like 
that of Belgium. 



DENMARK— Including^Iceland. 

Duration of patent from three to five years. 
Working in first year and continually afterwards. 
No protection afforded against importation of the 
same articles by other parties. Patent easily ob- 
tained. Cost, ;^75. 



53 
TURKEY. 

Has now a law similar to that of France ; but 
the Government reserves the right to appropriate 
warlike inventions on payment. The duration 
of the patent is fifteen years. Annual payment, 
two pounds Turkish. Cost of patent, ;^I50. 



OTHER EUROPEAN 
COUNTRIES. 

Switzerland has no patent law ; though some of 
the smaller cantons occasionally grant patents. 
Greece, Servia, and Roumania afford special pro- 
tection sometimes by act of the legislature ; Bul- 
garia, Montenegro, and one or two other minor 
States offer no patent facilities at present; and 
patents are rarely obtained or worth obtaining 
in the small English dependencies along the 
Mediterranean and the North Sea. 



54 



ASIA. 



INDIA. 

A patent may be applied for at any time 
within one year from the date of the British 
patent No attention is paid by the Indian 
patent officials to patents granted in any other 
country; but the courts might hold a patent not 
valid if published either in Great Britain or 
India before applying for the Indian patent, pro- 
vided no British patent had been applied for. 
The duration is fourteen years, extensible to 
twenty-eight. An examination is made, but a 
patent can usually be obtained. No fees after 
patent ; no compulsory license ; importation 
allowed ; working not insisted on. No other 
patent in the world gives protection for so long 
over such an extent of territory and such an 
enormous population. Scarcely any exceeds it 
in any one of these respects. The cost of pat- 
enting a simple invention is ^150. 



CEYLON. 

This is now a thriving colony, with about two 
million population, including a considerable num- 
ber of European colonists. It has a law similar 



55 

in many respects to that of India, but even more 
liberal, allowing a patent to be applied for at any- 
time during the life of the British patent. Public 
use or publication in any other country than 
Ceylon has no effect whatever. A prior grant 
of patent in England simplifies the examination 
in Ceylon, and reduces its cost. About six 
months are usually required to obtain a grant. 
Duration, fourteen years, renewable for fourteen 
more. Cost usually ^150. If no British patent 
has been previously obtained, it may reach ;^250 
or more. 



OTHER ASIATIC COUNTRIES 
AND COLONIES. 

Hong Kong and the Straits settlements grant 
patents; cost of each being usually ^150, and 
duration fourteen years. In the former the au- 
thorities have power to lay on heavy taxes at 
end of third and seventh years. Japan has a pat- 
ent law but no means of enforcing it; China, 
Persia, Afghanistan, Beloochistan, Anam, Siam, 
and Burmah have none. The remainder of Asia 
(both continental and insular) is mostly included 
under the patent laws of Russia, Turkey, Spain, 
&c. 



56 



AFRICA, 



CAPE OF GOOD HOPE. 

Duration fourteen years, limited by prior for- 
eign patent Tax of ^lo at end of three years; 
^20 at end of seven. No compulsory licenses, 
no working. No invention patentable if pub- 
lished in the colony before application. The 
number of patents taken out has been of late 
years rapidly increasing. Cost, $iys. 



NATAL. 

Similar to above. Duration the same. Third 
year tax £S and seventh ^13. Cost of obtaining 
patent, ;^i5o. 



LIBERIA. 

Duration fifteen years. Granted for inventions 
not known or used in Liberia before application. 
Working within three years. Cost, ;^ 165. 

Nothing else in Africa at present worth con- 
sidering, except Algeria, which is covered by the 
patent law of France. 



57 



AUSTRALASIA, 

(AND MISCELLANEOUS ISLANDS.) 



NEW SOUTH WALES. 

No provisional protection. Duration of pat- 
ents usually fourteen years, and granted either 
to inventor or importer. Application subject to 
examination, but usually granted. If refused, 
part of the money is returned. No annual or 
other taxes after patent; no working required. 
The invention must not have been in public use 
nor on sale in the colony before application, nor 
described in any printed publication circulating 
there. There is no compulsory licensing. This 
is the oldest and, except Victoria, the most pop- 
ulous of the Australian colonies ; its growth has 
been marvelous ; and a patent there is beyond 
doubt very desirable in many cases. Cost, ^200. 



QUEENSLAND. 

The new law (i 885) is a close copy of the Eng- 
lish, except as to fees. The fourth years' tax is 
£^ and the eighth £40. Cost, ;^I50. After Vic- 
toria and New South Wales, the most important 
colony of Australia. 



58 
SOUTH AUSTRALIA, 

Grants patents to inventors only. Duration 
fourteen years. Disclaimers and caveats are 
provided for. The invention must not have been 
publicly used or offered for sale in the colony. 
Six months' prior testing or exhibition allowed. 
Working required within three years. No pro- 
vision as to prior foreign patent or as to publica- 
tion in print. Third and seven year taxes £2 los. 
Cost of patent, ;^i5o. 



VICTORIA. 

A new colony, but of somewhat greater pop- 
ulation than New South Wales, and equally 
important for patent purposes. Grant to inventor 
only, and for fourteen years. The invention 
must not have been previously worked or pub- 
lished in the colony, but prior patentee may 
obtain valid patent within one year from his 
foreign patent, notwithstanding publication or 
use in Victoria during that period, if without 
his consent. Taxes at end of third and seventh 
years. Patent may be extended for another four- 
teen years. The number of patents taken out 
has been between two and three hundred yearly, 
but is rapidly increasing. Cost, ^^150. 



59 
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. 

The smallest of all these colonies. A patent 
costs ;^350. Or the owner of an English patent 
can get letters of registration extending it to 
Western Australia. Cost, ;^225. 



NEW ZEALAND. 

Very many patents have been obtained in this 
young but enterprising colony, which has about 
half a million population of English and Scotch 
immigrants. Every application is open to public 
inspection and officially advertised. Within four 
days thereafter it may be opposed ; in which pro- 
ceedings follow which are somewhat like an in- 
terference but less prolonged and costly. This 
of course does not happen in most cases. Amend- 
ment is allowed under certain restrictions. The 
patentee's rights include the interval between the 
application and grant, except so much of it as 
may exceed a year. A patent is granted to the 
inventor only, and lasts for fourteen years. If a 
foreign patent has been granted, the owner re- 
ceives letters of registration running for the term 
of said foreign patent. These letters of registra- 
tion have the same effect as letters patent. Work- 
ing is required within two years from date of ap- 
plication. There is a Government fee of seven 
pounds five years from said date. With inci- 
dental expenses, agent's fees, &c., this comes to 
about $4$. My charge for obtaining patent, if 
unopposed, is usually ^150. 



6o 
TASMANIA. 

Though on a separate island, this colony is a 
comparatively near neighbor to the main land of 
Australia. Duration of patent, fourteen years. 
Patents granted to actual inventor or his repre- 
sentative. The invention must not have been 
worked or published in the colony before appli- 
cation. There is an official examination. Three 
years' tax of £iS, and seven years' tax of ;^20. 
With agency charges, these come respectively 
to about ;^85 and ^iio. Provisional protection 
for six months if desired. Cost of obtaining 
patent, ^165. 



HAWAII. 

This little kingdom, better known as the Sand- 
wich Islands, is the first station in the Pacific 
west of our California coast, and has attracted 
considerable capital from that region. The most 
important occupation is sugar planting, in which, 
as in many other things, the latest improvements 
have been introduced — electric lights even being 
used in the fields to extend the working hours 
of the day — an excess of enterprise and industry 
to which our own farmers and planters have not 
attained. Communication with San Francisco is 
constant, and Americans constitute an important 
element in the population. Both the exports 
and the imports nearly doubled between 1878 
and 1882. Presumably the increase has con- 
tinued, which would make the former now about 



6i 

;^ 1 3,000,000, and the latter about ^9,000,000. 
The position of these islands and their other 
natural advantages insure a future for them, 

A good part of the new patent law (1884) is 
quoted verbatim from that of the United States, 
but the term is made ten years instead of seven- 
teen, and prior public use is allowed for but one 
year instead of two. The first Government fee is 
$2$, and the final Government fee ;^5. The Gov- 
ernment fee for a caveat is ^5. Disclaimers, reis- 
sues, and designs are not provided for. A cav- 
eator need not be a citizen nor have declared his 
intention to become such. The papers may be 
either in English or Hawaiian. My charges, in- 
cluding all Government fees, are: Patent, 
caveat, ;^ 30; copyright, ;^ 15. 



MAURITIUS. 

This island, with its dependencies, in the In- 
dian Ocean, has a population of about 300,000. 
Invention must not have been worked or pub- 
lished in the colony. Most of the provisions of 
the law are the same as the Indian, but prior use 
or publication in England is no bar. Cost, ;^I75. 



FIJI ISLANDS. 

These now constitute a British colony, with 
a prosperous European settlement and many of 
the adjuncts and comforts of advanced modern 



62 

life. Steady future improvement and growth 
may be looked for. The patent runs for fourteen 
years. There are no annual or other fees after 
it is granted. No working is required. The 
application papers must be in duplicate, the 
declaration being slightly different from that 
required in England under the law prior to 
recent changes. Cost, ^^200. 

Most of the petty English insular possessions 
{e. g. St. Helena and the Falkland Islands) grant 
patents either under a regular patent law or by 
special ordinance. Indeed, there are few spots 
on the globe where some, form of protection 
cannot be obtained by sufficient expenditure of 
money and effort; but many of these minor 
states or possessions are so limited in territory, 
population, wealth and knowledge as to make 
the privilege worthless. As a rule, a man may 
fairly claim to have covered all that is worth 
having, in the whole patent-giving world, if he 
has secured protection in the United States, 
Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Chili, Brazil, Great 
Britain, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ger- 
many, Austria, Italy, Spain and Cuba, Russia, 
Sweden, Denmark, India, the Cape colony, four 
of the Australian colonies (omitting Western 
Australia), New Zealand, Tasmania, Hawaii and 
perhaps Fiji. 



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